Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 126 /Wednesday, July 1, 1998 / Notices 35943

applicable on public land within

sections 28 and 34, Township 17 North,

Range 8 East of the Mt. Diablo meridian.

BLM’s authority to for issuing

supplementary rules is contained in 43

CFR 8365.1–6.

(a) No person shall camp. The term

camp is defined as the use,

construction, or taking possession of

public lands using tents, shacks, leantos, tarps, vehicles, huts, blankets, or

sleeping bags.

(b) No person shall build, attend,

maintain, or use a campfire. The term

campfire is defined as a controlled fire

occurring out of doors used for cooking,

branding, personal warmth, lighting,

ceremonial, or esthetic purposes.

(c) No person shall possess or

consume alcoholic beverages. The term

alcoholic beverages is defined as beer,

wine, distilled spirits, or any other

beverage defined as such by California

law.

(d) No person shall possess any bottle

or container made of glass.

(e) Any person who fails to comply

with these Supplementary Rules will be

subject to a fine of up to 100,000 dollars

and/or imprisoned not to exceed 12

months. These penalties are specified by

43 U.S.C. 303 and 18 U.S.C. 3623.

Federal, state, and local law

enforcement personnel and emergency

service personnel, while performing

official duties, are exempt from these

Supplementary Rules.

D.K. Swickard,

Field Manager.

[FR Doc. 98–16993 Filed 6–30–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mineral Management Service

Outer Continental Shelf, Beaufort Sea,

Oil and Gas Lease Sale 170

AGENCY: Mineral Management Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Final Notice of Sale.

1. Authority. The Mineral

Management Service (MMS) is issuing

this Notice of Sale under the Outer

Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (43

U.S.C. 1331–1356, as amended) and the

regulations issued thereunder (30 CFR

Part 256).

A ‘‘Sale Notice Package,’’ containing

this Notice and several supporting and

essential documents referenced in the

Notice, is available from the MMS

Alaska OCS Regional Office Public

Information Unit (see paragraph 15 of

this Notice).

2. Filing of Bids. Bidders must comply

with the following requirements. Times

specified hereafter are local Anchorage,

Alaska, times unless otherwise

indicated.

(a) Filing of Bids. Sealed bids must be

received by the Regional Director (RD),

Alaska OCS Region, MMS, 949 East 36th

Avenue, Third Floor, Anchorage, Alaska

99508–4302, during normal business

hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) until the Bid

Submission Deadline at 10 a.m.,

Tuesday, August 4, 1998. If the RD

receives bids later than the time and

date specified above, he will return the

bids unopened to bidders. Bidders may

not modify or withdraw their bids

unless the RD receives a written

modification or written withdrawal

request prior to 10 a.m. Tuesday, August

4, 1998.

(b) Bid Opening Time. Bid Opening

Time will be 9 a.m., Wednesday, August

5, 1998, at the Wilda Marston Theatre,

Z. J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 Denali

Street, Anchorage, Alaska. The MMS

published a list of restricted joint

bidders, which applies to this sale, in

the Federal Register at 63 FR 14473 on

March 25, 1998.

(c) Natural Disasters. In the event of

an earthquake or other natural disaster,

the MMS Alaska OCS Regional Office

may extend the bid submission

deadline. Bidders may call (907) 271–

6010 for information about the possible

extension of the bid submission

deadline due to such an event.

3. Method of Bidding. The MMS has

adopted the optional use of EFT for

payment of the 1⁄5th bonus bid. Sale 170

will be the first Alaska OCS Region sale

to use these procedures; however, the

process has been successfully

implemented for recent Gulf of Mexico

Region sales.

(a) Submission of Bids. For each tract

bid upon, a bidder must submit a

separate signed bid in a sealed envelope

labeled ‘‘Sealed Bid for Oil and Gas

Lease Sale 170, not to be opened until

9 a.m., Wednesday, August 5, 1998.’’

The total amount bid must be a whole

dollar amount; any cent amount above

the whole dollar will be ignored by the

MMS. Details of the information

required on the bid(s) and the bid

envelope(s) are specified in the

document ‘‘Bid Form and Envelope’’

contained in the Sale Notice Package

(see paragraph 15 of this Notice).

Bidders must execute all documents

in conformance with signatory

authorizations on file in the MMS

Alaska OCS Region Office. Partnerships

also must submit or have on file a list

of signatories authorized to bind the

partnership. Bidders submitting joint

bids must state on the bid form the

proportionate interest of each

participating bidder, in percent to a

maximum of give decimal places, e.g.,

33.33333 percent. The MMS may

require bidders to submit other

documents in accordance with 30 CFR

256.46. The MMS warns bidders against

violation of 18 U.S.C. 1860 prohibiting

unlawful combination or intimidation of

bidders.

(b) Submission of the 1⁄5th Bonus

Payment. Bidders will have the option

of submitting the 1⁄5th cash bonus in

cash or by cashier’s check, bank draft,

or certified check with the bid; or by

using electronic funds transfer (EFT)

procedures. Detailed instructions for

submitting the 1⁄5th bonus payment by

EFT are contained in the document

‘‘Instructions for Making EFT 1⁄5th

Bonus Payments’’ included in the Sale

Notice Package.

Bidders are advised that the MMS

considers the signed bid to be a legally

binding obligation on the part of the

bidder(s) to comply with all applicable

regulations, including paying the 1⁄5th

bonus on all high bids. A statement to

this effect will be included on each bid

(see the document ‘‘Bid Form and

Envelope’’ contained in the Sale Notice

Package).

4. Minimum Bid, Yearly Rental, and

Royalty System. The following

minimum bid, yearly rental, and royalty

system apply to this sale:

(a) Minimum Bid. Bidders must

submit a cash bonus in the amount of

$62.00 or more per hectare or fraction

thereof with all bids submitted at this

sale.

(b) Yearly Rental. All leases awarded

will provide for a yearly rental payment

of $13.00 per hectare or fraction thereof

until initial production is obtained.

(c) Royalty System. After initial

production is obtained, leases will

require a minimum royalty of $13.00 per

hectare or fraction thereof. Leases issued

as a result of Sale 170 will have a fixed

royalty rate of 121⁄2 percent.

5. Equal Opportunity. The

certification required by 41 CFR 60–

1.7(b) and Executive Order No. 11246 of

September 24, 1965, as amended by

Executive Order No. 11375 of October

13, 1967, on the Compliance Report

Certification Form, Form MMS–2033

(June 1985), and the Affirmative Action

Representation Form, Form MMS–2032

(June 1985) must be on file in the MMS

Alaska OCS Regional Office, prior to

lease award, (see paragraph (u) of the

document ‘‘Information to Lessees for

Sale 170’’ contained in the Sale Notice

Package).

6. Bid Opening. Bid opening will

begin at the bid opening time stated in

paragraph 2(b). The opening of the bids

is for the sole purpose of publicly
35944 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 126 /Wednesday, July 1, 1998 / Notices

announcing bids received, and no bids

will be accepted or rejected at that time.

7. Deposit of Payment. Any payments

made in accordance with paragraph 3(b)

above will be deposited by the

Government in an interest-bearing

account in the U.S. Treasury during the

period the bids are being considered.

Such a deposit does not constitute and

shall not be construed as acceptance of

any bid on behalf of the United States.

8. Withdrawal of Tracts. The United

States reserves the right to withdraw

any tract from this sale prior to issuance

of a written acceptance of a bid for the

tract.

9. Acceptance, Rejection, or Return of

Bids. The United States reserves the

right to reject any and all bids. In any

case, no bid will be accepted, an no

lease for any tract will be awarded to

any bidder, unless:

(a) the bidder has complied with all

requirements of this Notice, including

the documents contained in the

associated Sale Notice Package (see

paragraphs 1–15 of this Notice), and

applicable regulations;

(b) the bid is the highest valid bid;

and

(c) the amount of the bid has been

determined to be adequate by the

authorized officer.

No bonus bid will be considered for

acceptance unless it provides for a cash

bonus as specified in paragraph 4 above.

Any bid submitted which does not

conform to the requirements of this

Notice, the OCS Lands Act, as amended,

and other applicable regulations may be

returned to the person submitting that

bid by the RD and not considered for

acceptance.

To ensure that the Government

receives a fair return for the conveyance

of lease rights for this sale, tracts will be

evaluated in accordance with

established MMS bid adequacy

procedures. A copy of the current

procedures (‘‘Summary of Procedures

for Determining Bid Adequacy at

Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales:

Effective August 1997, with Sale 168’’)

is available from the MMS Alaska OCS

Regional Office Public Information Unit

(see paragraph 15 of this Notice). This

document incorporates changes

announced in a Federal Register Notice

at 62 FR 37589, dated July 14, 1997.

10. Successful Bidders. The following

requirements apply to successful

bidders in this sale:

(a) Lease Issuance. The MMS will

require each person who has submitted

a bid accepted by the authorized officer

to execute copies of the lease (Form

MMS–2005 (March 1986) as amended),

pay the balance of the cash bonus bid

along with the first year’s annual rental

for each lease issued by EFT in

accordance with the requirements of 30

CFR 218.155, and satisfy the bonding

requirements of 30 CFR 256, Subpart I,

as amended.

(b) Certification Regarding

Nonprocurement Debarment,

Suspension, and Other Responsibility

Matters—Primary Covered Transactions.

Each person involved as a bidder in a

successful high bid must have on file, in

the MMS Alaska OCS Regional Office, a

currently valid certification that the

person is not excluded from

participation in primary covered

transactions under Federal

nonprocurement programs and

activities. A certification previously

provided to that office remains currently

valid until new or revised information

applicable to that certification becomes

available. In the event of new or revised

applicable information, the MMS will

require a subsequent certification before

lease issuance can occur. Persons

submitting such certifications should

review the requirements of 43 CFR, Part

12, Subpart D.

A copy of the certification form is

contained in the Sale Notice Package.

11. Official Protraction Diagrams. The

following Officials Protraction

Diagrams, which may be purchased

from the MMS Alaska OCS Regional

Office Public Information Unit (see the

document ‘‘Information to Lessees’’

contained in the Sale Notice Package),

depict the blocks offered for lease in this

sale:

(a) Outer Continental Shelf Official

Protraction Diagrams. these diagrams

sell for $2.00 each.

NR 06–03, Beechey Point, revised

September 30, 1997

NR 06–04, Flaxman Island, revised

September 30, 1997

12. Description of the Areas Offered

for Bids.

(a) Areas Available for Leasing. The

locations of blocks offered for lease in

Sale 170 are shown on Locator Maps

and Official Protraction Diagrams. Some

of these blocks, however, may be

partially leased or transected by

administrative lines such as the Federal/

State jurisdictional line. Information on

the unleased portions of such blocks,

including the exact area in hectares, is

included in the document:

‘‘Description of Blocks Included in

Sale 170’’

The Sale Notice Package contains this

document.

13. Lease Terms and Stipulations.

(a) Leases resulting from this sale will

have initial terms of 10 years. Copies of

the lease form are available from the

MMS Alaska OCS Regional Office

Public Information Unit (see paragraph

15 of this Notice).

(b) The text of the lease stipulations

is contained in the document ‘‘Lease

Stipulations for Oil and Gas Lease Sale

170.’’ This document is contained in the

Sale Notice Package. The stipulations

will become a part of leases on

applicable blocks resulting from Sale

170.

14. Information to Lessees. The Sale

Notice Package contains a document

titled ‘‘Information to Lessees for Sale

170.’’ The Information to Lessees items

provide information on various matters

of interest to lessees and potential

bidders.

15. Sale Notice Package. The Sale

Notice Package, and individual

documents contained therein, are

available from the Public Information

Unit, Minerals Management Service,

949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308,

Anchorage, Alaska 99508–4302, either

in writing or by telephone at (907) 271–

6070 or (800) 764–2627. For additional

information, contact the Regional

Supervisor for Leasing and

Environment, in writing at the above

address or by telephone at (907) 271–

6045.

The documents referenced below and

contained in the Sale Notice Package

contain information essential for

bidders, and bidders are charged with

the knowledge contained therein.

Included in the Package are:

Cover sheet.

Notice of Sale for Sale 170, Beaufort

Sea.

Least Stipulations for Oil and Gas

Lease Sale 170.

Information to Lessees for Sale 170.

Description of Blocks Included in Sale

170.

Debarment Certification Form.

Bid Form and Envelope.

Bidder Contact Form.

Instructions for Making EFT 1⁄5 Bonus

Payment.

Certain documents may be viewed

and downloaded from the MMS World

Wide Web site at http://www.mms.gov/

alaska. The MMS also maintains a 24-

hour Fax-on-Demand Service at (202)

219–1703.

Dated: June 24, 1998.

Cynthia Quarterman,

Director, Minerals Management Service.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals

Management.

[FR Doc. 98–17403 Filed 6–30–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–M